Energy security of supply is the backbone of any economy. It acts as a stimulant and catalyst to economic growth and development. The energy generation landscape of our country is evolving to include more electricity from clean-energy and renewable sources. The Department is working to ensure that the independent power producers (IPP) procurement programme delivers secure energy supply from a diverse range of energy sources, as outlined in Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2019.
The major focus of this initiative is to overcome the challenges of inadequate electricity availability in line with the fourth priority intervention of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, that is, to rapidly expand our country’s energy generation capacity. At the same time, the government seeks to reduce the amount of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere to improve air quality and the wellbeing if its citizens.
In September 2020, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) concurred with a Section 34 Determination to procure 11 813 MW of electricity from a range of technologies. These include wind (4800 MW), solar PV (2000 MW), coal (1500 MW), gas (3000 MW), and battery storage (513 MW).
The Request for Proposal (RFP) for the procurement of 2600 MW under the Renewable Energy IPP Procurement Programme Bid Window 5 has been released. Bid Window 5 will call for 1600 MW from wind and 1000 MW from Solar PV.
Given the energy challenges that we are facing the objective is to get these projects connected to the grid as soon as possible. The closing date for the Bid Submissions is 4 August 2021.
The Department says it will convene a virtual bidder’s conference in April 2021, to provide more information on the qualifying criteria and bid submission expectations.
Prospective bidders will be required to pay a non-refundable fee of R25 000 net of all charges, for access to the RFP and to submit one project by the bid submission date.
The Department will update potential bidders regarding any new developments, important information on the bidding process and key dates around the bid submission process.
Click here for Bid Window 5 submission details
